After over two years of dealing with the covid 19 pandemic, researching restrictions, lounging in lockdowns, it’s time to get those dusty suitcases out of the attic, load up the car and start travelling again! More and more countries are making to their travel policies and the world is starting to open up again. Furthermore, life has changed for many over these recent years, perhaps friends have moved away, you’ve met new people, others have got married or even had kids of their own. Now is the time to get your pals back together and travel as a big bunch of buddies! It’s the perfect opportunity to reconnect, catch up, all the while taking in the sights and experiencing the joy and exhilaration that comes when you explore a new place.
Is it really possible to pull off a big group vacation? How do move this kind of plan vacation on from being simply an idea on a group chat to actually booking dozens of flights, sorting accommodation for tons of travellers, or finalising ? Consider some of the following tips that might help you when it comes to organising a big group holiday.
Tips for a big group holiday
There are few things to do that will help you to organise a vacation that’s enjoyable for a large number of people. A lot of it will be part of your planning:
1) Find yourself a leader
With so many people, and so many opinions, there needs to be a responsible individual (or two!) designated to take the lead. They are not going to be dictators and make every decision, but they rea going to be responsible for booking tickets, delivering information to the group, even assigning tasks to different ones to share the load. It will help everyone in the group as there is always going to be someone who knows what is happening and when and can ideally keep an eye on costs as things add up. While taking the leader, this person will make sure they don’t act superior and there’s no one that feels left out or unheard in the discussions of plans.
2) Plan ahead
Schedule a planning meeting – if people don’t live close by, use a virtual meeting application to have a online discussion. It will be a more interesting Zoom meeting than the ones you’re used to! Finalise a destination and think of a basic framework from which you are going to build your vacation itinerary. Decide on whether it’s going to be an adventurous trip or a relaxed one, a camping holiday or a hotel retreat. Don’t worry about making every plan right away but have a basic skeleton on which to work from.
3) Decide on a budget
A big factor to consider when travelling is the expense, and when you have a big group of people involved, they will all have different incomes, expectations, and budgets. From the off, settle on the financial side of things and encourage everyone in the group to be open and honest about how they feel and how much they are willing to spend on different things. This will help you as you plan the itinerary, or even multiple itineraries depending on the expense. This will save you from the awkwardness and embarrassment that arises when there’s an argument about how to split the bill or the expense of an excursion.
4) Write it down
Make shared notes or documents on which to write down plans, ideas, questions, bookings… basically if people need to know something, write it down. A group chat will help with this too as people can help each other throughout the planning process and answer queries as they arise.
5) Look for discounts
There are often discounts or cheaper rates available for big group bookings so look out for these as that may save you quite a bit of money. This will be of great benefit for ones who have a tighter budget, or if the whole trip needs to be quite financially restrained.
6) Create a routine
This doesn’t need to a military style schedule, but at least have a plan on what to do on each day, when everyone needs to be up, how much time is going to be spent on different activities, who will cook dinner and wash up etc. Keeping a general plan of each day will help all travellers to feel calmer about more organised, and your daily trips will go a lot smoother when everyone is on the same page.
7) Think about accommodation designed for groups
If you want to keep costs down, look about a group lodging option or a rented house. These self-accommodation options will worker out cheaper and a lot more flexible, so they will hopefully work better for more of your group. Besides, these are your friends, people who you want to spend time with! This way, you’ll be able to cook meals together, have games evenings together, even do a bit of tidying up together!
8) Don’t cram too much into one day
After such a long break from travelling, the temptation to get as much done as possible is there. But that could leave people tired and stressed, which is more likely going to cause arguments and upsets. Focusing on making happy memories, not seeing everything in a city.
